The Attorney General of the US state of Indiana is suing TikTok for collecting user data and exposing children to inappropriate videos.
TikTok, known in China as Douyin , is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance . It hosts a variety of user- submitted videos . It has become a hugely popular app in the past two years.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Todd Rokitafiled two lawsuits against TikTok and its owner, Bytedance. These are the state's first lawsuits against the popular social media app.
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“The TikTok app is a threat unleashed on unsuspecting Indiana consumers by a Chinese company that is well aware of the harm it causes to users,” Rokita said.
The first lawsuit alleges that TikTok is showing young users and children sexual or other adult content, despite the app ’s claim that it is suitable for teens. According to Rokita, the algorithm “ displays an abundance of content depicting alcohol, tobacco and drugs, sexual content, nudity and strong profanity .” The lawsuit alleges that TikTok makes this content available to all users regardless of age. This means it can be shown to users as young as 13.
Rokita also claims in the lawsuit that TikTok encourages children to break the law, such as with last year's "devious licks" challenge, where many students stole or vandalized school property.
The complaint filed against TikTok alleges that the American version (TikTok) does not have the same level of security as its Chinese counterpart Douyin. According to the complaint, Douyin requires users to verify their real names and limits usage for those under 14 to 40 minutes or less.
See also: FBI: TikTok compromises the security of the United States
“ A fundamental part of TikTok’s business model is to present the app as safe and appropriate for children ages 13 to 17 ,” the attorney general’s office said . If TikTok had been honest about the amount of drug, alcohol and nudity content, it would not have been considered “ teen- appropriate, ” and far fewer young people would have used it because it would not have been able to pass muster in app stores, the form argues.
TikTok is deceiving and misleading users
The second lawsuit claims that TikTok violated consumer protection lawsby deceiving users about the amount of sensitive data the app collects.
“While TikTok collects bundles of highly sensitive and personal information about Indiana consumers, it deceives and misleads them about the risks the app typically poses to their data,” the lawsuit states. It also notes that TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, is a Chinese company subject to Chinese law, a law that likely mandates secret cooperation with China’s intelligence agencies.
ByteDance , for its part, has previously stated that it never shares data about US with the Chinese government and that all domestic traffic is routed through Oracle cloud servers located in the US. In addition, TikTok’s US CEO told lawmakers that compared to similar apps, TikTok collects less user information.
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Indiana's lawsuit against TikTok follows similar moves by other states. Maryland, South Carolina and South Dakota have banned TikTok from government phones, while a member of the Federal Communications Commission has called for it to be removed from app stores. Earlier this year, eight states also launched investigations into TikTok's impact on teens.
Source: www.cbsnews.com
